THE GAME: Washington (7-1 in the Pac-10, 10-1 overall), ranked No. 4 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, returns to the Rose Bowl for the first time since the 1992 season. Washington will take on 14th-ranked (both AP and ESPN/USA Today) Purdue (6-2 in the Big Ten, 8-3 overall) in the Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, 2001, at 2:00 p.m. PST. The Huskies won a share of the Pac-10 championship along with Oregon and Oregon State and received the Rose Bowl berth thanks to their 3-0 non-conference record. Washington enters the game on a seven-game winning streak, their longest since a 22-game streak was snapped in the ninth week of the 1992 season.

ROSE BOWL HISTORY: Washington is making its first appearance in Pasadena since the 1993 Rose Bowl, a 38-31 loss to Michigan. Washington has played in 13 Rose Bowls, going 6-6-1 in those games. The UW first played in Pasadena in the 1924 game, tying Navy 14-14. The Huskies have never played Purdue in the Rose Bowl, but have played the Boilermakers in the regular season. The Huskies are 6-1-1 all-time against Purdue, having won the last six in a row (1971-72, 1987-90). The other two meetings were in 1961 (a UW loss) and 1962 (a tie). Washington is 8-11-1 in the Rose Bowl stadium, having gone 2-5 against UCLA there, as well as 6-6-1 in the Rose Bowl game. See inside for more information on the Huskies' Rose Bowl history and the series history against the Boilermakers.

PRACTICE & EVENTS SCHEDULE: Here's a look at the Washington schedule for the Rose Bowl:

DAWGS & ROSES: The Huskies will be making their 14th appearance in the Rose Bowl game, the second most among Pac-10 teams behind USC (28). The Huskies will also be playing in their 27th bowl game, also second to USC (39) among league schools. Washington is the seventh different Pac-10 team to play in the Rose Bowl in the last seven years, and remains the last Pac-10 school to play in consecutive Rose Bowls (1991, 1992 and 1993). Washington has played in a bowl game in each of the last five years and 18 of the last 21 seasons. Here's a brief look at the Huskies' bowl game history, starting with their Rose Bowl appearances.

DECADE AFTER DECADE: Washington has won a conference title and a trip to the Rose Bowl in each of the last nine decades, dating back to the 1920s. In the 1920s, Washington won the berth in 1923 and 1925. In the 1930s, the Dawgs won the '36 title. In the 40's, Washington earned the trip in 1943 and then barely made it in the 50's when it won the 1959 title. The Huskies won two Rose Bowl berths in the 1960s - 1960 and 1963 - and one in the 1970s (1977). Titles in 1980 and 1981 did it for that decade and three straight trips to begin the 1990s covered that 10-year span. Now in the 2000's, UW has become the first and only team to earn Rose Bowl berths in nine straight decades. USC has a chance to equal the UW if it qualifies for the Rose Bowl some time this decade.

HUSKIES vs. BIG TEN: Washington holds an all-time record of 37-35-1 against Big Ten opponents, a record that includes an 0-2 mark against Penn State, though the Lions were not members of the Big Ten at the time of their games against the UW. The Huskies' most recent action against Big Ten teams has come primarily in bowl games and in a series of games with Ohio State during the mid-1990s. The Huskies have played Big Ten teams five times in bowl games since 1990: Iowa in the 1991 Rose Bowl, Michigan in the 1992 Rose Bowl, Michigan in the 1993 Rose Bowl, Iowa in the 1995 Sun Bowl and Michigan State in the 1997 Aloha Bowl. The Huskies went 3-2 in those games. Washington went 5-4 against the Big Ten in the 1990s. The Huskies open the 2001 season against Michigan at Husky Stadium.

SERIES HISTORY: Washington is 6-1-1 all-time against Purdue in a series that dates back to the 1961 season. The Huskies are 3-1-1 against Purdue at Husky Stadium and 3-0-0 at Ross-Ade Stadium. Rick Neuheisel and Joe Tiller have never coached against one another. Neuheisel's 1997 Colorado team beat Wyoming, but that was the year that Tiller began coaching at Purdue after six seasons at Wyoming. Neuheisel is 1-2 against Big Ten teams with a 1995 win over Wisconsin and a pair of losses to Michigan (1996 and 1997), all while at Colorado. Tiller is 0-3 all-time against Pac-10 opponents with two losses to Oregon State while at Wyoming (1993 and 1994) and a 1998 loss to USC while at Purdue. The Huskies are 14-4 in their last 18 games against Big Ten opponents, dating back to the 1981 Rose Bowl (a win over Iowa). That mark doesn't count a 13-10 loss to Penn State in the 1983 Aloha Bowl, as Penn State was independent at the time. Here's a game-by-game recap of the eight all-time Washington-Purdue games:

Sept. 23, 1961 Purdue 13, UW 6 Husky Stadium

In both teams' season opener, Purdue used a varied ground attack to win what was primarily a defensive struggle. The Boilermakers rushed for 251 yards, though no individual ran for more than 69. Nine different Purdue players rushed the ball more than once with Roy Walker leading the way with 69 yards. Purdue scored 10 points in the first quarter on a 14-yard field goal from Skip Ohl and a 30-yard run from Dave Miller. Ohl added a 23-yarder in the second quarter to close out the scoring for the visitors. The UW scored its only points early in the fourth quarter when backup QB Bill Siler hit Kim Stiger for a 15-yard TD pass. The Huskies would have three more drives after the touchdown, but never advanced into Purdue territory again.

Sept. 22, 1962 No. 10 UW 7, No. 7 Purdue 7 Husky Stadium

The Boilermakers returned to Seattle for the 1962 season opener in a clash of two top-10 teams and came away with a tie in another defensive struggle. Washington out-gained Purdue on the ground, 234 yards to 109 and neither team did much through the air, but the Huskies lost three fumbles and threw one interception while visitors turned it over only twice. All-conference halfback Charlie Mitchell led the Huskies with 70 rushing yards on 14 carries while 11 different Purdue players carried the ball at least once. UW opened the game with an 11-play, 76-yard drive that culminated in a two-yard TD run by Bob Monroe. Purdue scored after the Huskies fumbled on their own three-yard line. Two plays later, Tom Yakubowski ran it in from two yards out to tie it at 7-7. In the final minute, UW kicker Jim Norton missed a 32-yard field goal, his third miss of the day.

Sept. 18, 1971 UW 38, Purdue 35 Husky Stadium

Husky quarterback Sonny Sixkiller had his most prolific passing day ever in leading Washington to a see-saw 38-35 win. Sixkiller broke his own school record with 387 passing yards on 24-of-48 passing. The game featured an amazing eight lead changes as the two teams traded touchdowns throughout the second half. Sixkiller threw a 33-yard pass to Tom Scott with 2:29 left in the game to provide the Dawgs with the winning score. That came after Purdue QB Gary Danielson had hit Darryl Stingley with an 80-yard pass to give the Boilermakers their fourth lead of the game. The Huskies hung on for the win when Rick Huget picked off Danielson on the final drive of the game. Scott scored three TDs in the game, two on passes from Sixkiller and one on a 60-yard rushing play. Jerry Ingalls also scored on two one-yard runs for Washington. Danielson completed 11-of-23 for 183 yards and Otis Armstrong rushed for 121 yards on 19 carries to lead Purdue.

Sept. 23, 1972 No. 15 UW 22, Purdue 21 Ross-Ade Stadium

In the UW's first trip to West Lafayette, the Huskies came away with a 22-21 win after trailing 21-0 at halftime. Steve Wiezbowski booted a 25-yard field goal with 2:04 left in the game to provide the winning score after Pete Taggares and Sonny Sixkiller led the Husky comeback. Purdue went ahead on two TD runs from Bill Pedhorestzky and another from Bo Bobrowski. But in the third , Taggares ran for a seven-yard score to get the Huskies on the board. In the fourth, Sixkiller ran for a three-yard TD before hitting Taggares with a 14-yard pass. Two-point tries on the second and third TDs both failed, leading to the necessity of Wiezbowski's field goal. Tony Bonwell intercepted Danielson on Purdue's final drive to preserve the victory. Sixkiller threw for 222 yards on 17-of-30 passing, but also tossed four interceptions. Gary Danielson completed only one of his nine pass attempts, but rushed for 213 yards on 16 carries.

Sept. 12, 1987 No. 12 UW 28, Purdue 10 Husky Stadium

Chris Chandler overcame a sluggish start (2-of-13 passing for only 19 yards midway through the second quarter) to hit 11 of his next 18 for 181 yards and three touchdowns as Washington downed Purdue 28-10. Chandler threw two TD strikes in the second quarter, hitting Brian Slater with a 30-yard pass and Darryl Franklin from 16 yards out. In the third quarter, Chandler and Slater hooked up again, this time from 41 yards. David Toy capped the UW scoring, intercepting a fumble and running it in from 26 yards out. Other than a second-quarter field goal, Purdue's only score came in the fourth quarter on a one-yard run by Darren Miles. Purdue was held to only 39 rushing yards while Doug Downing threw for 237 yards, but was intercepted four times. Slater caught eight passes for 142 yards to lead the Huskies while Chandler finished 13-for-31 for 200 yards.

Sept. 10, 1988 No. 20 UW 20, Purdue 6 Ross-Ade Stadium

Husky fullback Aaron Jenkins rushed for a career-high 162 yards on 24 carries to lift Washington to a 20-6 win in the season opener at West Lafayette. Jenkins single-handedly out-gained Purdue on the ground, 162 yards to 107. His big run was a 67-yarder in the second quarter that set up the Huskies' first score, a 39-yard John McCallum field goal. After a Darren Myles TD run in the second quarter gave Purdue a 6-3 lead (the two-point PAT try failed), Cary Conklin threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brian Slater to give the Huskies a 10-6 lead at the half. In the fourth quarter, another McCallum field goal and a one-yard run by Donald Jones capped the scoring. Conklin, in his first start at the UW, completed only 5-of-18 passes for 57 yards and three interceptions. Shawn McCarthy, the Purdue QB, was 18-for-40 for 172 yards, but was also picked off three times.

Sept. 16, 1989 No. 15 UW 38, Purdue 9 Husky Stadium

Washington tailback Greg Lewis rushed for 165 yards on 20 carries as the Huskies scored early and often in a 38-9 win. The UW scored 17 in the first quarter and led 24-0 at half. The Dawgs stretched their lead to 38-0 before Purdue got a fourth-quarter touchdown, followed by a safety on a snap out of the end zone. For the second time in three seasons, the Huskies held the Purdue rushing game to only 39 yards. Cary Conklin had a good day for the home team, throwing for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 14-of-27 passing. Purdue QB Steve Letnich completed 15-of-40 for 249 yards and one score.

Sept. 15, 1990 No. 22 UW 20, Purdue 14 Ross-Ade Stadium

Washington's defense struggled early with Purdue's new run-and-shoot offense, giving up 14 first-quarter points. But the Huskies shut the Boilermakers out the rest of the way and rallied to improve to 2-0 on the year. For the day, the Dawgs stuffed the Purdue running game for zero net yards while tailback Greg Lewis led the visiting Huskies to 197 rushing yards. Eric Hunter connected with Tony Vinson on an 11-yard pass to give the Boilermakers a 7-0 lead before Husky quarterback Mark Brunell scored on a 47-yard run to tie it. Still in the first, Hunter hit Rodney Dennis with a 54-yard TD pass to give the home side a 14-7 halftime lead. Two Mike Dodd field goals in the third quarter closed the gap to 14-13, and in the fourth, Brunell connected with Orlando McKay on a 35-yard pass to give the Dawgs their first lead. Lewis posted 101 yards on 28 carries while Brunell was 11-for-24 for 150 yards passing while also picking up 76 yards on 16 carries.

THE COACH: Rick Neuheisel is in his second season as the head coach at Washington. He is 17-6 at Washington with a six-year career record of 50-20 (.714). He is the 23rd coach in Washington's history and just the fourth Husky head coach in the past 42 years. Last year, he became the first Husky head coach to lead the Dawgs to a bowl game in his first season in charge as Washington played Kansas State in the Culligan Holiday Bowl. Before coming to Washington, Neuheisel compiled a 33-14 (.702) record during his four years as head coach at Colorado (1995-98), including postseason victories in the Cotton, Holiday and Aloha Bowls. Prior to his first head coaching opportunity, Neuheisel worked as an assistant coach for seven seasons, including the 1994 campaign at Colorado. A 1984 graduate of UCLA, Neuheisel served as an assistant at UCLA (1986-93) under Terry Donahue. The 39-year-old Neuheisel was born in Madison, Wis., and grew up in Tempe, Ariz., where he attended McClintock High School. Originally a walkon at UCLA, Neuheisel won the starting quarterback position as a senior and led the Bruins to the 1983 Pac-10 Championship. His collegiate career was highlighted by the 1984 Rose Bowl where he led UCLA to a 45-9 victory against Illinois. Neuheisel has been inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Washington fans remember Neuheisel's remarkable performance at the Rose Bowl when he completed 25 of 27 passes (including 18 straight at one point) to set an NCAA record that was broken in 1998 by Tennessee's Tee Martin. Neuheisel still holds the Bruins' single-season (69.3) and career (68.3) completion percentage records.

BEST OF THE BEST: Washington's win over WSU moved Husky head coach Rick Neuheisel's career record to 50-20. That's the second best mark for current coaches who became head coaches in 1995. Neuheisel currently ranks ninth (tied) among all active Division I coaches in terms of winning percentage.

ROSE BOWL MVP RETURNS: Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel may have reached the pinnacle of his playing career when he was named the MVP of the 1984 Rose Bowl. Neuheisel, then the senior quarterback for the UCLA Bruins, led his team to a 45-9 win over Illinois on Jan. 1, 1984. When he coaches in the Rose Bowl this year, he'll be the first man ever to be named MVP of the Rose Bowl and serve as head coach of a team playing in the Rose Bowl. Incidentally, former Husky quarterback Bob Schloredt, who won the MVP award in 1960 and 1961, coached in the 1964 Rose Bowl as an assistant on the UW staff.

TWIN 600 WINS: During the 1999 season, Husky coach Rick Neuheisel became the first Division I coach to guide two programs to their 600th all-time victory. Neuheisel's first win (31-24 vs. Colorado) as Washington's head coach was the 600th all-time victory for the school. In 1998, he was the head coach at Colorado when the Buffaloes recorded their 600th win in a game against Iowa State.

FIRST-YEAR CLUB: In addition to becoming the only Washington first-year head coach to guide his team to a bowl game, Rick Neuheisel is one of just 17 coaches in the history of the Pac-10 Conference to accomplish the feat. Oregon State first-year coach Dennis Erickson joined Neuheisel on that list last year.

FIRST-YEAR RESULTS: Rick Neuheisel became the first Husky coach to take his team to a bowl game in his first year on the job. Neuheisel's seven wins also equalled Jim Lambright's record for most wins by a first-year coach. Here's a look at what some of the most notable UW football coaches did in their first season with the Huskies. Among the coaches listed below, six won their first game as the UW head man: Jim Lambright, Darrell Royal, Ralph Welch, James Phelan, Enoch Bagshaw and Gil Dobie:

FIRST TWO YEARS: Rick Neuheisel's 17 wins in his first two seasons at Washington are the most ever by a UW coach in his first two years at Montlake. In 1993 and 1994, Jim Lambright led Washington to back-to-back 7-4 seasons, giving him 14 wins in his first two years. Prior to that, the most was 13 wins by Gilmour Dobie, who led Washington to a 13-0-1 mark in his first two seasons (1908-09). Here's a look at what some notable Husky coaches have done in their first two seasons:

THE COACHING STAFF: Experience abounds amongst Washington's nine assistant coaches. Eight of the nine coaches have been a coordinator on the collegiate level and two, Keith Gilbertson and Steve Axman, have been head coaches. Gilbertson guided the Idaho program from 1986-88 and was the head coach at California from 1992-95. Axman was the head coach at Northern Arizona from 1990-97. Most of the current staff has a previous coaching connection with Husky head coach Rick Neuheisel. Defensive coordinator Tim Hundley coached defensive tackles at Colorado from 1996-98 and was a member of the UCLA staff from 1990-95. Axman, the quarterback's coach, was the offensive coordinator at UCLA from 1987-88. Safeties coach Bobby Hauck was at Colorado from 1995-98 and coached with Neuheisel at UCLA from 1990-92. Cornerbacks coach Chuck Heater was a member of the Colorado staff from 1993-98. Running backs coach Wayne Moses coached with Neuheisel at UCLA while he was the Bruins' running backs coach from 1990-95. Heater and new offensive line coach Brent Myers are the only coaches on the Washington staff who had not coached or played in the Pac-10 Conference prior to this season. Randy Hart, Tom Williams and Heater have also all served as defensive coordinators - Hart at Washington, Williams at Hawai'i and Heater at Colorado State.

RETURNING TO THE ROSE BOWL: Six of the Washington's 10 full-time coaches have either played or coached in the Rose Bowl prior to this season. The most obvious is head coach Rick Neuheisel, who went to the 1983 and 1984 Rose Bowls as a quarterback for UCLA, winning the Rose Bowl MVP award in the '84 game. Neuheisel was an assistant coach at UCLA when the Bruins played in the 1994 Rose Bowl. Three Washington assistant coaches played in the Rose Bowl. Randy Hart played in the 1969 game for Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes to a win over USC and a national title. Hart has also coached in the Rose Bowl five times, twice as an assistant at OSU and three times while at Washington. Chuck Heater played fullback for Michigan in the 1972 Rose Bowl, when the Wolverines' undefeated season was spoiled by Stanford, 13-12. Heater has not returned to the bowl since. Wayne Moses played for Washington in the Huskies' 1978 Rose Bowl win over Michigan. He has since coached in the game as an assistant at UCLA in 1994. Finally, both UW coordinators - Keith Gilbertson and Tim Hundley - have coached in the Granddaddy of Them All before. Gilbertson coached Washington in the 1991 and 1992 Rose Bowls while Hundley coached at UCLA when the Bruins went to the '94 game.

OLD-TIME UW-PURDUE CONNECTIONS: Two former Washington head football coaches had strong ties with Purdue. James Phelan, who coached at UW from 1930 to 1941, served as coach at Purdue from 1922 to 1929. He led the Boilers to an 8-0-0 record in 1929, winning Purdue its only outright title to this day. Also, former UW head man Ralph "Pest" Welch, who coached at Montlake from 1942-47, was an All-America halfback at Purdue in 1929, playing for Phelan.

WASHINGTON-PURDUE TIES: There hasn't been a great deal of crossover between the Washington and Purdue staffs and teams. One notable exception is Husky defensive line coach Randy Hart, who spent five seasons as an assistant coach in West Lafayette. Hart coached the D-line for the Boilermakers under Jim Young. While Purdue head man Joe Tiller never coached at Washington, he has been a visitor at Husky Stadium as offensive coordinator at Washington State in 1989 and 1990, and also as a WSU assistant from 1971-73. Purdue's defensive ends coach Gary Emanuel, quarterbacks coach Greg Olson and receivers coach Kevin Sumlin have also served as WSU assistants. Olson, who is married to former UW assistant track coach Lissa Olson, also coached at Central Washington from 1990 to 1993. Washington has no players on its roster from anywhere nearer to Purdue or the state of Indiana than a couple of players from Colorado. Purdue, however, has one player from the state of Washington: freshman wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield, from Yakima's Davis High.

WINS DON'T COME EASY: Washington fans got their money's worth this year as the season was, at the very least, exciting. The Huskies won seven games by a touchdown or less, and trailed in eight of their 10 victories. The only two games in which the UW led from wire-to-wire were a tight, 34-29 win over Miami and the season-ending blowout win over Washington State. In week three, at Colorado, the Huskies trailed 7-3 going into the fourth quarter, but stormed to a 17-7 lead at one point. After a CU score, Washington came up with a fumble recovery on the Buff's last drive to preserve the win. The following week at Oregon, Washington stormed back with 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but fell short. Against Oregon State, the UW entered the fourth quarter trailing by 21-20, but stretched a lead to 33-23 before OSU scored and then missed on a field goal try in the waning seconds that would have sent the game into overtime. The next week at Arizona State, Washington entered the fourth narrowly in front at 7-6 and led 21-6 before ASU scored a safety and a TD to cut the lead to 21-15. But the Huskies held onto the ball for the final 2:08 to win. Against California, the UW was behind 24-13 entering the final period, and missed a field goal before Cal turned it over three times and had a punt blocked, leading to 23 unanswered UW points and another late victory. At Stanford, the Huskies drove 80 yards on three plays and 36 seconds to pull out a 31-28 win after the Cardinal had stormed back from a 24-6 deficit in the last six minutes of the game. Washington trailed Arizona 25-10 before out-scoring the Cats 22-7 in the final quarter. The Huskies added a twist by taking the lead in the fourth and then giving it up again before Marques Tuiasosopo's two-yard TD run with 1:10 left provided the final 35-32 score. The Huskies didn't trail UCLA in the fourth quarter, but did go to halftime down 21-14 before rallying for three touchdowns in the third quarter.

ACADEMIC HONORS: For the second straight season, Washington senior punter Ryan Fleming was named to the CoSIDA/Verizon Academic All-America District 8 team, and to the Pac-10 All-Academic first team. Fleming, who's majoring in information systems/finance and carries a 3.24 grade point average, was joined on the Pac-10 All-Academic team by center Kyle Benn (3.18 in business). Four Huskies also earned honorable mention: quarterbacks Marques Tuiasosopo and Cody Pickett and linebackers Tyler Krambrink and Oye Waddell.

ALL-PAC-10 HONORS: Five Washington players, including Offensive Player of the Year Marques Tuiasosopo, were named to the All-Pac-10 first team. Joining Tuiasosopo on the team were offensive tackle Elliot Silvers, offensive guard Chad Ward, defensive tackle Larry Tripplett and safety Hakim Akbar. All five were first-time selections to the first team. Ward, Akbar and Tripplett were each named to the second team in 1999. Safety Curtis Williams and tight end Jerramy Stevens were both named to the second team this year while linebackers Derrell Daniels and Jeremiah Pharms received honorable mention. Incidentally, Marques' father Manu Tuiasosopo was named a first-team all-conference defensive lineman three times (1976-78) while at UCLA.

ALL-AMERICA HONORS: A number of Huskies have gained mention on the various All-America teams that have been released so far. With several teams yet to be made public, the following Washington players have received the following All-America honors:

HIGH-SCORING HUSKIES: Washington scored 30 or more points in eight of its 11 games this season. Having scored 51 at Washington State, the Huskies tied a school record by scoring 30 or more points eight times. The only other two times that Washington has done that were 1991 (the Huskies' national championship season) and 1997. In both of those years, the Dawgs also scored 30 or more in their bowl game. The school record for points in a season is 461, set by the '91 team. Washington scored 353 in 2000.

WINNING STREAK: The Huskies' seven-game winning streak is the longest current streak in the Pac-10 and is the longest UW win streak since the Dawgs won 22 in a row between the end of 1990 and the ninth week of 1992. Washington also had a nine-game winning streak to begin the 1984 season and won 10 in a row between the final three games of the 1981 campaign and the first seven of 1982. The UW has now closed out the year with seven or more wins only seven times. Aside from 1991 (12-0), the Huskies have finished out the season with seven straight wins only five other times before - in 1960 (lost in week three, finished 10-1) and in the 1909, 1911, 1913 and 1915 seasons, when in each case Washington went 7-0 for the season under undefeated coach Gilmour Dobie.

10-WIN SEASONS: With its 10-1 record, Washington has posted its 12th season with 10 or more wins. The first came in 1923 (10-1-1) under coach Enoch Bagshaw and the most recent was in 1991 (12-0) under coach Don James. James' teams reached 10 wins seven times in his 18 seasons. Here's a list of the Huskies' 12 10-win seasons:

TOUGH AFTER TURNOVERS: Washington has shown unusual strength after turning the ball over this season, holding its opponents scoreless 67 percent of the time. The UW has turned it over 27 times this season, but opponents have scored only five touchdowns and four field goals after those turnovers, good for only 47 points. On the flip side, Washington has been a little better after opponents' turnovers. The Dawgs have 25 takeaways on the season and have turned those 25 opportunities into 11 touchdowns and two field goals, good for 78 points.

.500 OR BETTER SEASONS: The Huskies' win over California assured the Huskies of their 24th consecutive season with at least a .500 record. The last time that Washington finished below .500 was 1976, when the Dawgs went 5-6. Since then, the Huskies are 201-77-3 (.721) overall. Only three teams have longer streaks than Washington: Nebraska (39 seasons), Michigan (33), BYU (26). Florida State and Washington each have streaks of 24 straight .500 or better seasons.

1,003 AND COUNTING: The game at Stanford was the 1,000th Washington football game in the school's history. Only 39 Division I teams entered the 2000 season having played 1,000 games. Washington has an all-time record of 616-337-50 (.639) and is one of only 18 teams with 600 or more all-time wins. When the Huskies played their 1000th game, they became only the third Pac-10 team to have played 1,000 games, joining California (1,038) and USC (1,019). Among current Division I-A teams, Rutgers has played the most college football games, with 1,131 in 131 seasons through this past week. Rutgers played in the first-ever college football game, against Princeton. Pennsylvania, now a Division I-AA team, has played 1,214 games, most at any level.

RANKING REMARKS: With three Pac-10 teams (UW, Oregon State and Oregon) currently ranked in the AP top 10, it's worth noting there have been three final AP polls in the last 10 years with two Pac-10 teams in the top 10: 1991 (No. 2 UW, No. 8 Cal), 1997 (No. 5 UCLA, No. 9 WSU) and 1998 (No. 4 Arizona, No. 8 UCLA). During the last 10 years, seven of the conference's 10 teams have finished in the top 10 at least once: all but Oregon, USC and Oregon State. Miami, ranked fourth in both polls at the time UW beat them earlier this season, was the highest ranked opponent to visit Husky Stadium since UCLA came to Seattle ranked third in the AP standings in 1998. Since 1990 the Huskies are 7-8 against top-10 opponents. That includes a 2-7 record in the last nine matchups. Also since 1990, the Huskies have gone 24-22-1 against top 25 teams. Here's a look at the Huskies' record against top-10 foes over the last 11 seasons:

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Washington's two-deep roster is loaded with players who saw their first playing time opening day against Idaho. The Husky offense includes five freshmen or redshirt freshmen. The defensive two-deep includes eight freshmen or redshirt freshmen. A total of nine true freshmen have played this season. Derrick Johnson scored on a 22-yard reverse to become the first Husky true freshman to score in a season opener since Andy Fuimaono scored in UW's 55-0 victory against UTEP on Sept. 11, 1982. The Dawgs kept that mojo working against Miami as well, as freshman tailback Rich Alexis broke off a 50-yard TD run for his first career score before posting two rushing TDs vs. Oregon State. Justin Robbins, a freshman receiver, also scored his first TD in the OSU game on a 16-yard reception. Alexis, one of the more prolific freshmen in UW history, scored two more TDs at ASU, another two vs. Cal and one at Stanford, when Robbins posted the winning score with 17 seconds remaining. In the WSU game, Robbins became the only Husky receiver to catch two TD passes in a game this season. The UW had a freshman score a TD in seven of 11 games.

FRESHMEN STARTERS IN THE ROSE BOWL: Washington has never had a true freshman start in the Rose Bowl, something that's certain to change this season. As many as five Husky freshmen could possibly start, depending on the formation on the opening play. In the 1992 Rose Bowl, two true freshmen - tight end Mark Bruener and tailback Napoleon Kaufman - saw significant playing time (Bruener scored a TD), but neither started. True freshman Jason Shelley caught three passes for 100 yards and a TD as a backup receiver in the 1993 Rose Bowl. Jacque Robinson won the 1982 Rose Bowl MVP as a freshman, but did not start.

THE SHUTOUT STREAK: Washington's win over WSU marked the 227th consecutive game in which UW has not been shut out. That's the best streak among Pac-10 schools. BYU has the nation's longest streak at 323 games (NCAA record), while Texas is second with 238 games. The last opponent to hold the Huskies scoreless was UCLA (31-0) on Nov. 7, 1981. Washington has played 152 Pac-10 games since then without a shutout - second among Pac-10 schools.

HISTORY LESSON: Successfully rushing the football and winning go hand-in-hand for the Huskies. Since 1990, Washington has rushed for 200 yards in a game 54 times. The Huskies' record stands at 49-4-1 (.917) in those contests. Since the 1995 season, Washington is 24-1-1 (.942) when rushing for 200 yards.

THE 100-YARD FACTOR: Since the 1947 season, Washington is 150-34-3 (.810) when a Husky player rushes for 100 yards in a game. This year, the Huskies have had five games with a 100-yard rusher, and won all five. The UW had its first 100-yard rusher (two of them, actually) against Oregon State as Rich Alexis (107 yards) and Paul Arnold (102) each eclipsed the century mark. Against Arizona State, Alexis went for 127 in another UW victory. Willie Hurst posted his first 100-yard game of the season in the win over Arizona, going for 116 yards. Alexis had 127 again against UCLA. In the season finale at Washington State, Braxton Cleman passed the century mark for the first time, going for 105 yards. Alexis joined Cleman in the Apple Cup with his fourth 100-yard game of the season (134).

THE RED ZONE: Washington's red zone performance this year was outstanding, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Huskies ventured inside the opponents' 20-yard line 50 times in 2000 and came away with a score 44 times, for a Pac-10-best 88.0 percent rate. The Huskies' defense held the opponents without a score seven times in 37 trips inside the zone. Here is the breakdown of how the Huskies and their opponents fared in the red zone:

LOOKING TO CATCH ON: It's no secret that the Huskies' wide receiver corps entered the year as an inexperienced group. With the graduation of Gerald Harris, Dane Looker and Joe Jarzynka from last year's squad, and with an injury keeping Chris Juergens out of action, Todd Elstrom is the only Husky wideout that caught a pass in 1999 (not counting backs and tight ends). In the Idaho game alone, three different UW receivers (Wilbur Hooks, Wondame Davis and Justin Robbins) each made his first career reception. Terry Tharps made his first catch at Oregon. Against Cal, Patrick Reddick made his first catch since the 1997 season. Three Husky receivers (Hooks, Davis and Robbins) have each had their first career touchdown reception this season.

TIME OF POSSESSION IS KEY: Last season, Washington led the Pac-10 by averaging 32:57 time of possession per game. As far as wins and losses went, there seemed to be no more key statistic. Washington won all six games in which it held the time of possession advantage and lost five of the six games in which it did not. In 2000, the Huskies won the TOP battle in eight of 11 games, and won all eight. Oregon won the TOP and the game while the Huskies bucked the trend vs. Stanford and Arizona, losing the TOP but winning the games. To break it down, UW is 14-0 under Neuheisel when it has won the time of possession stat, and 3-6 when it hasn't. Here's a breakdown of the TOP in 1999 and 2000:

PLAYING THE TRUE FRESHMEN: During Washington's first six seasons of the decade of the '90s, the Huskies had six freshmen see playing time. Since the 1996 season a total of 33 freshmen have played, including 10 in 1997 and eight in 1998. In 1999, six true freshmen - Paul Arnold, John Anderson, Kevin Ware, Quentin Morgan, Levi Madarieta, and Cody Pickett - saw playing time. In 2000, UW played a total of nine true freshmen, including cornerbacks Derrick Johnson and Roc Alexander, wide receiver Justin Robbins, safeties Jimmy Newell and Greg Carothers, defensive end Jerome Stevens, tailbacks Rich Alexis and Sean Sweat and outside linebacker Marquis Cooper. Prior to the 2000 season, the Huskies had started three true freshmen in the same game only once (1998 vs. WSU), but started that many in three games in 2000, including the WSU game, in which four true freshmen (Stevens, Robbins, Carothers and Johnson) made starts.

BROTHER ACT: Washington has featured a number of strong sibling pairs through its history, including many such combinations in recent years. In 2000, senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo was joined on the UW roster by younger brother Zach Tuiasosopo, a freshman linebacker. Also teaming up were junior safety Hakim Akbar and his older brother, junior transfer Mikal Akbar, a receiver. Frosh offensive lineman Aaron Butler is the younger brother of former Husky linebacker Hillary Butler (1990-93) while junior defensive end Jonathan Schmidt is brother to former Husky captain Donovan Schmidt (1991-94). Here's a list of some notable recent brothers to play for the Huskies (years lettered in parentheses): Damon (1993-95) and Brock (1996-98) Huard, Dave (1989-92) and Steve Hoffmann (1992, 94-95), Jeff (1987, 89-90) and Shane (1989-92) Pahukoa, Mark (1987-89), Matt (1990-93) and Darius (1995) Jones, Ryan (1994-95) and Ben (1996-98) Kadletz, and Jay (1989-92) and Damon (1991-92) Barry.

FOURTH QUARTER: Washington had some unusual fourth-quarter statistics in 2000. In 11 games, the Huskies were outscored in the fourth quarter twice (22-14 by Stanford, 7-0 by UCLA), while also tying once (7-7 vs. Miami). Yet, they were out-gained (in terms of total offense) in seven of 10 wins, while the Huskies easily eclipsed Oregon (186 total yards to 17) in their lone loss. For the season, the UW was out-gained by the opposition, 1,113 yards to 1,112, but the Huskies out-scored opponents 144 to 68 in the final period. Here's a breakdown:

SACK STORY: With 33 sacks in 2000, Washington nearly tripled its total from all of the 1999 season (13), and that's after having lost two starting defensive linemen (Jabari Issa and Mac Tuiaea) off of the '99 team. Last season, Tuiaea led the Huskies in sacks with three, which is the same total that nose tackle Larry Tripplett had in the Colorado game alone. Tripplett led the team with his 6.5 sacks while linemates Marcus Roberson had six and Jeremiah Pharms had 5.5.

RB BY COMMITTEE: Washington had four players see significant play at tailback and four players spend time at fullback in 2000, and with all that, the Huskies led the conference in rushing (211.7 yards per game) despite not having a rusher in the top 10 individually most of the season (Rich Alexis cracked the top 10 in the last two weeks of the season). Alexis, Paul Arnold, Willie Hurst and Braxton Cleman all had significant carries at tailback while Pat Conniff, Ken Walker, John Hart and Cleman all played fullback. Eight different players scored rushing TDs (including cornerback Derrick Johnson on an end-around in his only offensive play of the season). Here's a breakdown of UW's rushing attack each week:

FOURTH-QUARTER COMEBACKS: Under Rick Neuheisel, Washington has had to come from behind in 13 of its 17 wins. That total includes eight such wins in 2000 (every win except Miami and Washington State). Of those 13 come-from-behind wins, Washington trailed in the fourth quarter and won eight times. In the Arizona win, the Huskies took the lead in the fourth, then gave it up again before taking it back for good on their last drive. Here's a look:

TUIASOSOPO IN A NUTSHELL: Simply put, Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo will finish his college career as one of the greatest players in Washington history. Tuiasosopo, only a two-year starter, will leave the UW with 10 school records. But perhaps more important has been his value to the team in terms of both versatility and leadership. A two-time team captain and two-time team MVP, Tuiasosopo capped this season by becoming the first Husky quarterback to be named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year since 1983. Since that time, eight starting Husky quarterbacks have gone on to careers in the NFL. Tuiasosopo is the UW's all-time leader in career total offense, single-season total offense and single-game total offense. He's also the most prolific running quarterback in school history and one of only two men at Washington ever to pass for 2,000 yards in two consecutive seasons.

TUIASOSOPO HONORS: Husky senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo has accumulated some significant postseason honors in 2000. Tuiasosopo became the first Husky to be named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year since tailback Napoleon Kaufman earned that honor in 1994. Tuiasosopo was also the first Washington quartertback to be named to the All-Pac-10 first team in 17 seasons, since Steve Pelluer was both the first-team QB and Offensive Player of the Year. Only four other Husky quarterbacks prior to Tuiasosopo have been named first-team all-league since the awards began in 1952: Don Heinrich (1952), Bob Schloredt (1960), Bill Douglas (1963) and Pelluer (1983). Additionally, Tuiasosopo was a finalist for both the Johnny Unitas and Davey O'Brien Awards.

TUIASOSOPO IN THE TOP 10: Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo holds 11 school records and one NCAA record (only player ever to pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 in a single game). He also ranks in the top 10 in 18 other UW single-game, long-play, single-season and career top 10s. Here's a rundown of where Tuiasosopo ranks on the various UW charts:

Only player in college football history to pass for 300 yards (302) and rush for 200 yards (207) in a single game (vs. Stanford, 1999)

1st in career total offense, with 6,875 career yards

1st in career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, with 20

1st in single-season total offense, with 2,762 in 1999

1st in single-game total offense, with 509 yards vs. Stanford in 1999

1st in total career offensive attempts, with 1,107

1st in total offensive attempts in a season with 449 in 2000

1st in single-season total offensive yards per game, with 251.1 in 1999

1st in career rushing yards by a quarterback, with 1,374

1st in career 200-yard passing games, with 16

1st in passing yards by a Husky junior, with 2,221 in 1999

2nd in single-season total offense, with 2,540 in 2000

2nd in single-season total offensive attempts, with 433 in 1999

2nd in single-season total offensive yards per game, with 230.9 in 2000

2nd (tied) with five consecutive 200-yard passing games in 2000

2nd (tied) with seven 200-yard passing games in a single season (1999 and 2000)

83-yard TD pass to Todd Elstrom at Cal in 1999 ties for 2nd-longest pass play

2nd in single-season rushing yards by a quarterback, with 541 in 1999

3rd in career passing yards, with 5,501

4th in career touchdown passes, with 31

4th in career passing efficiency, with a 115.67 rating

4th in single-season pass attempts per game, with 29.4 in 2000

4th (tied) with four consecutive 200-yard passing games in 1999

5th in single-season passing yards, with 2,221 in 1999

5th in single-season rushing yards by a quarterback, with 394 in 2000

7th in single-season rushing yards by a quarterback, with 327 in 1998

8th in single-season passing yards, with 2,146 in 2000

9th in career rushing attempts, with 346

TUI BREAKS TOTAL OFFENSE MARK: Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo entered the year ranked eighth on the UW career total offense list, but in the Cal game passed Damon Huard to take over the top spot and finished the year 1,062 yards ahead of the old record. Through 42 games (25 starts), he has 6,875 career total yards. The Pac-10 counts bowl games in career records, which gives Tuiasosopo 7,156 yards, good for 16th place in conference history with the Rose Bowl yet to be played. Tuiasosopo's 509-yard outing against Stanford in 1999 (the day that he rushed for 207 yards and passed for 302) also ranks as the No. 4 total offense single-game outing in Pac-10 history.

TUI MOVES UP: At the start of the 2000 season, Marques Tuiasosopo ranked ninth in UW history in terms of career passing yardage. He finished his career as the No. 3 passer in Washington history, trailing only Brock Huard (5,742 yards) and Damon Huard (5,692). With 5,501 career passing yards, Tuiasosopo edged out Husky legend and long-time record holder Sonny Sixkiller by five yards. It's worth noting that Tuiasosopo started 25 games during his career. Brock Huard started 27, while Damon started 30. Here are the UW career passing yardage leaders:

TUI'S BACK-TO-BACK 2000-YARD SEASONS: Marques Tuiasosopo finished the season with 2,146 passing yards. Coupled with last year's 2,221 yards, he is the first UW quarterback to pass for 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons since Sonny Sixkiller in 1970 and 1971. Since that time, eight Husky quarterbacks have started in consecutive seasons, but none have surpassed 2,000 passing yards twice. All eight of those quarterbacks (Warren Moon, Tom Flick, Steve Pelluer, Chris Chandler, Cary Conklin, Damon Huard, Brock Huard) ended up playing in the NFL. No QB prior to Sixkiller had thrown back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons.

TUI TAKES OVER THE 200 LIST: Senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo threw for 200 or more yards in seven of 11 games of this season, giving him a total of 16 career 200-yard passing games. That broke the UW record for career 200-yard passing games, formerly held by current Seattle Seahawks QB Brock Huard. Remarkably, Tuiasosopo passed for exactly 223 yards three times in 2000 and threw for between 223 and 229 yards five times.

TUI OVER 1,000: Husky quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo rushed for 80 yards in the season opener against Idaho to push his career rushing total over 1,000 yards. Tuiasosopo rushed for 112 yards as a freshman in 1997, 327 yards as a sophomore and 541 yards last year. The Idaho game marked the sixth time in Tuiasosopo's 42-game career he has led the Huskies in rushing. Tuiasosopo is also the only Washington player ever to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in a career.

THE RUNNING QB: Marques Tuiasosopo finished the 2000 season as the Huskies' third leading rusher with 394 yards. In each of the last three seasons, Tuiasosopo has finished as one of Washington's top three rushers, finishing second in both 1999 (541 yards) and in 1998 (327 yards). In 1998, he started only two games. As a freshman in 1997, when he started only one game, Tuiasosopo finished fourth on the team in rushing with 112 yards on the ground. Tuiasosopo is the only Washington quarterback to rush for over 1,000 yards. The old UW record for career rushing yards by a quarterback was 854, by Dennis Fitzpatrick (1972-74). Tuiasosopo also finished his career with 20 rushing touchdowns, one more than the UW record for quarterbacks (19, by Mark Brunell (1989-92). He also has three of the top six seasons in Husky history for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Here's where Tuiasosopo ranks on UW's single-season lists for rushing yards by a QB and rushing TDs by a QB:

TOTALLY TUIASOSOPO: Senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo proved to be one of the most versatile signalcallers in the nation during the 1999 season. No game proved that more than his record-setting performance in Washington's 35-30 victory against Stanford. He passed for a career high 302 yards and rushed for a career-high 207 yards to become the first Division I player to ever pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 yards in a game. There have only been three other Division I players to rush and pass for 200 yards in a game. There have only been six other times when a quarterback has passed for 300 yards and rushed for 100 yards. His 509 yards of total offense broke Washington's old school record of 419 yards set by Cary Conklin in 1989 vs. Arizona State. His 207 rushing yards ranks as the 12th best rushing performance in UW history. Tuiasosopo became only the fifth Husky quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game. He was the first since Dennis Fitzpatrick gained 249 rushing yards vs. Washington State in 1974.

TUIASOSOPO TIDBITS: Tuiasosopo passed for a TD in 10 of 11 games in 2000 and ran for two touchdowns in the one game (Arizona) that he didn't throw one ... by rushing for minus-6 yards at WSU in the 2000 season finale, Tuiasosopo broke a streak of 34 straight games in which he'd rushed for positive yardage ... his last negative rushing game was his freshman year vs. USC ... since getting picked off in the second quarter vs. Arizona, he's thrown 67 passes without being intercepted ... since throwing an interception on a hail mary pass on the final play of the Oregon game, Tuiasosopo has been intercepted only four times in his last 196 passes ... he has 10 TD passes in that span ... backup QB Cody Pickett threw only two passes this season, meaning that Tuiasosopo threw 323 of the UW's 325 passes this year ... that's the least action for a backup since Eric Alozie threw only one pass in relief of Cary Conklin in 1988.

CAPTAINS: In a vote of teammates, senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, senior offensive lineman Chad Ward and junior defensive lineman Larry Tripplett were named captains of the 2000 Husky team. For Tuiasosopo, it is a rare feat in that he is serving as captain for the second straight season, something that's only happened seven other times in UW history, including last year, when Lester Towns spent his second season as captain, the first time since Ray Pinney earned the post in 1974 (Coach Jim Owens' last season) and again in 1975 (Coach Don James' first year). Besides Pinney, Towns and Tuiasosopo, the other five Washington football players to spend two seasons as captain were: Frank Griffiths (1889-90), Fred McElmon (1902 and 1904), Jack Lindsay (1896-97), Ray Eckmann (1921-22) and Sonny Sixkiller (1971-72).

STELLAR STEVENS: Sophomore tight end Jerramy Stevens, one of eight semi-finalists for the inaugural John Mackey Award (for the nation's top tight end), is making a name for himself as perhaps the finest tight end in the nation. Against Arizona, Stevens notched 93 yards receiving on eight catches, the highest single-game total ever by a UW tight end. And keep in mind that Washington has sent seven tight ends to the NFL in the last decade. Stevens set new career highs with seven catches for 89 yards against No. 4 Miami earlier this year. The following week at Colorado, he caught seven catches for 102 yards, only the third time in the last decade that a Husky tight end had passed the century mark. With 43 catches and 600 yards, Stevens trailed only Todd Elstrom for the team lead in both categories. His 43 catches also set a new UW record for most receptions by a tight end in a season. Stevens came up with the big catches, as 28 of his 43 receptions have resulted in UW first downs. In the Colorado game alone, six of his seven catches were first down plays. All four of his receptions vs. UCLA resulted in a first down. Only a sophomore, Stevens already ranks fourth in UW history for career receptions by a tight end with 64 and fourth in yardage with 865. By way of comparison, through his first 22 games (which is how many Stevens has played), UW career tight ends receptions leader Mark Bruener had 26 receptions for 267 yards. Stevens has more catches and yards in his first 22 games than Bruener, Aaron Pierce, Ernie Conwell and Cameron Cleeland had combined. All four are NFL tight ends today. Here are the top 10 receiving tight ends in UW history, listed by career receptions. Below that is a list of what several recent Husky tight ends had done through 22 games:

ROGERS GETS A REMATCH: The Huskies have one player that has faced Purdue before - offensive lineman Matt Rogers played for Iowa in 1998, when the Hawkeyes suffered a 36-14 loss at West Lafayette. Rogers arrived at the UW last year and sat out the season after transferring. He backs up on the offensive line and is a special teams regular. Rogers, incidentally, has appeared on two game shows: "Family Feud" and "The Price is Right".

AKBAR NEXT IN LINE: Washington junior safety Hakm Akbar, a first-team All-Pac-10 selection, is showing himself to be another in the recent line of tremendous Husky safeties, a group that includes All-Pro Lawyer Milloy and fellow NFL-er Tony Parrish. Akbar, a freshman All-American in 1998, went on to finish second on the team in tackles last year with 69. Akbar finished this year with 97 tackles, tied with Derrell Daniels for first on the team and fourth in the Pac-10. By ending the season atop the UW tackles list, he became the first safety to lead the Huskies in tackles since Milloy, who led the team in stops in 1995 (115) and 1994 (106). Prior to Milloy, the last defensive back to lead the Dawgs in tackles was Tony Bonwell, in 1972. This season, after posting 14 tackles against Oregon, he notched 19 against Oregon State, easily leading the Huskies on both occasions. Akbar also co-led Washington with two interceptions. Akbar's 19 tackles vs. OSU were the most by a Husky since 1996 (John Fiala, 22 vs. Arizona State).

DOUBLE-D: Senior inside linebacker Derrell Daniels is finishing off his UW career in high style, as he ended the year tied with Hakim Akbar as the Huskies' leading tackler with 97, fourth-most in the Pac-10 Conference. Known off the field for his quiet, friendly demeanor, Daniels excels on the field as a player who usually finds his way to the ball. He has led the Huskies in tackles five times this season, and has been among the team's top two tacklers in four other games. His coaches have also taken notice, as Daniels was named one of the team's defensive MVPs three times this season. He was Pac-10 defensive player of the week on Nov. 6.

HURST SO GOOD: Junior tailback Willie Hurst didn't start a game in 2000. However, that didn't stop him from turning in several star performances, including his great outing in the win over Arizona. In that one, Hurst carried the ball only eight times, but tallied 116 yards, two TDs and scored the Huskies' only two-point conversion of the year. He had scoring runs of 23 and 65 yards, both in the fourth quarter. His 23-yard run was named the college play of the week by CNNSI.com. Hurst also posted a strong day in the comeback win over Stanford, rushing for 96 yards and two TDs on 14 carries. Against UCLA, Hurst ran for 99 yards on only 11 carries, but broke his collarbone at the end of his 62-yard run on the first play of the second half.

DJ'S RETURNS: Freshman Derrick Johnson's 23 kickoff returns were the second most in UW history, while his 557 kick return yards ranked him fifth. Johnson fell only 69 kick return yards of short of teammate Toure Butler's UW record of 626 (1998) and only one return back of the mark of 24, set in 1988 by Steve Jones. Johnson, a second-team Freshman All-American (Sporting News), led the Pac-10 and finished No. 21 in the nation with his 24.2-yard kick return average.

TRIPPLETT IS TROUBLE: Junior defensive lineman Larry Tripplett, an ESPNMAG.com first-team All-American and a Sporting News second-teamer, took his role as team captain seriously as he was the Husky defense's star performer several times this year, earning Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week and national defensive player of the week honors after the Colorado game. After recording one sack last year (when he was named to the All-Pac-10 second team), Tripplett had team-high six and a half sacks in 2000. At Colorado, he led the team with eight total tackles, including three sacks, and also was credited with a quarterback hurry, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery, which came in the final minute of the fourth quarter and preserved the win. Against UCLA, Tripplett made only three tackles, but all three were for a loss. Tripplett has also become an amazing kick blocker this year. He blocked a PAT and a field goal (on the last play) vs. Arizona, giving him a total of three blocked kicks this season. It could be argued that, over the course of the season, Tripplett made four game-saving or game-turning plays: 1) at Colorado, recovered a fumble on the Buffs' last drive of the game, thwarting their comeback attempt, 2) against Oregon State, tackled tailback Ken Simonton for a loss on a second-and-one play late in the fourth, causing the Beavers to have to spike the ball to stop the clock on third down, and pushing back Ryan Cesca's 46-yard field goal attempt that fell short and would have sent the game into overtime, 3) vs. California, forced a fumble from tailback Joe Igber that led, on the very next play, to the Huskies' go-ahead touchdown, 4) blocked Sean Keel's game-ending field goal try at the end of the Arizona game that would have sent that game into overtime had it been made.

FOR-WARD: Husky senior tackle Chad Ward was a strong candidate, literally, for All-America honors in 2000. A senior from tiny Finley, Wash., Ward is in his fourth season as a starter on the offensive line and has never redshirted a season at Washington. This past summer, during the team's annual testing day, Ward set a school record with a 733-pound squat. He has power cleaned 430 pounds, bench pressed 500 pounds, recorded a 31-inch vertical leap and been timed in the 40-yard dash in 5.09 seconds. "When the pro scouts ask about Chad, and we tell them his power clean numbers, their eyes bulge out," says Husky strength coach Bill Gillespie. "He is about as powerful of a offensive lineman as I have ever seen." The hard work paid off as Ward has been named first-team All-America by the Sporting News and College Football News, and a second-teamer by Football News and Gannett newspapers.

RICH REWARDS: Despite having played only one full year of high school football, Husky freshman tailback Rich Alexis made an immediate impact in college in 2000. The Coral Springs, Fla., native travelled cross-country to play college football, following fellow Pope John Paul II graduate John Anderson, the Husky kicker. Alexis was the Huskies' leading rusher and has set a new UW record for rushing yards by a freshman with 738 (the old mark was 538 by current junior Willie Hurst). Despite having started only four times, Alexis led the Huskies with those 738 yards rushing and with nine touchdowns. He averaged a very strong 6.3 yards per carry and had three of the Huskies' six longest runs this year. In the Miami game, Alexis helped the Huskies past his hometown team with a 50-yard TD run. Against Oregon State, he broke the 100-yard barrier for the first time, rushing for 107 yards and two TDs. In the win at ASU, Alexis busted out for 127 yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries. His second scoring run vs. ASU was 86 yards, the sixth-longest in Washington history. Alexis got his first start in the win over Cal, rushing for 79 yards on 22 carries and scoring two touchdowns, including the go-ahead TD on a 16-yard run. Alexis tied his career high for yardage in the UCLA game when he rushed for 127 once again, much of that yardage coming after a shoulder sprain suffered in the first quarter. At WSU, he set a new career high with 134 yards on only 12 carries, including a 50-yard run. At season's end, Alexis was named a first-team Freshman All-America by rivals.com and a second-teamer by the Sporting News.

THE KICKER: Washington sophomore placekicker John Anderson turned in another strong season in 2000 after earning freshman All-America honors last year. In 2000, Anderson led the Huskies in scoring with 74 points and made 12 of his 17 field goal attempts, including his last four in a row and seven of his last eight. As a freshman, he converted 13 of 18 field goals and 34 of 35 PATs and led UW in scoring with 73 points. Anderson began to make his mark when he booted a 50-yard field goal against Oregon State in '99. That kick ended a 16-year stretch in which the Huskies had not recorded a 50-yard field goal. Anderson's boot was the longest by a UW kicker since Jeff Jaeger converted a 52-yard field goal in 1983 vs. Oregon. Jaeger was also a freshman that season. Since Jaeger's kick, the Huskies had made 224 field goals over the previous 17 seasons without making one from at least 50 yards. Anderson was two years old when Jaeger made the last 50-yard field goal. Anderson went on to prove that long boot was no fluke. He ended the '99 season with three 50-yard field goals to his credit, including a 56-yarder at UCLA to tie the UW school record. That field goal was the longest by a Pac-10 kicker in 1999. It tied as the 14th longest in league history and it was the longest by a true freshman in conference history. His kick was the seventh longest in Pac-10 history since 1989, when use of a kicking tee was eliminated. Anderson has accounted for three of the nine 50-yard field goals in UW history. When Anderson booted three 40-plus yard FGs vs. Stanford, it was the first time a Husky kicker had converted three 40-yarders since Brandy Brownlee made three vs. Texas A&M in 1987.

A FIRST FOR A FRESHMAN?: Washington sophomore kicker John Anderson is believed to be only the second true freshman to kick three 50-yard field goals in a single season in 1999. Based on research provided by other Division I sports information departments, Anderson's three 50-yarders last season were a rarity for first-year players. The only other true freshman to equal Anderson was Texas A&M's Tony Franklin. Franklin, who kicked 15 50-yard field goals during his career at Texas A&M from 1975-78, had kicks of 50, 50 and 59 yards his first season as an Aggie. Another Texas A&M kicker, Kyle Bryant, had three 50-yard field goals in 1994 when he was a redshirt freshman for the Aggies. It should be noted that all of Franklin's kicks came when placekickers were allowed to use a one-inch tee. Washington State All-America kicker Jason Hanson, who owns the NCAA career record with 18 50-yard field goals, had two (52 and 51) as a freshman (1988).

POPE JOHN PAUL II CONNECTION: It's unusual enough for Washington to have two players from the state of Florida and on the same team. But with freshman tailback Rich Alexis and sophomore kicker John Anderson, the UW has two players from Pope John Paul II High in Boynton Beach, Fla. What's more amazing is that the two Floridians are Washington's top two scorers - Anderson has 74 points and Alexis has 54. With their combined 128 points, they have scored more points than any other high school tandem in Washington history (dating back to 1950, before which high schools are difficult to determine). The next closest high school combo was Dave Williams and Don Moore, both grads of Lincoln High in Tacoma, who combined to score 96 points in the 1965 season. Here's a look at UW's top high school scoring tandems:

MAHDAVI PROVES WORTHY: At the first team meeting of the season Husky coach Rick Neuheisel announced that walkon linebacker Ben Mahdavi had been awarded a scholarship. Mahdavi is the only walkon player this season to receive a scholarship. Mahdavi made his head coach look good in the season opener against Idaho when he came up with two of the Huskies' biggest plays. Midway through the second quarter he scooped up a fumble and raced 35 yards for a touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter he blocked a Vandal punt that UW recovered on the one-yard line. Since the start of the season, he has since moved into a starting spot, with eight starts in 2000. Mahdavi had originally signed a letter of intent at Utah, but transferred before the 1998 season.

JUSTIN's CASE: True freshman receiver Justin Robbins has turned into a regular in the Huskies' starting lineup, and is making a case to be one of the best true freshman receivers in UW history. He finished the year ranked third in UW history in receptions by a freshman with 22. He was also the only Husky receiver this year to score two touchdowns in a game, as he made it into the endzone twice at Washington State. Among Pac-10 freshmen receivers in 2000, Robbins was second to USC's Keary Colbert in both receptions and yardage (Colbert had 33 for 383 yards), but had four TDs to Colbert's one. Here's a look at the top five freshman wide receivers in Washington history (by receptions):

ELSTROM'S CATCHES: Junior Todd Elstrom was easily the Huskies' most consistent and prolific wide receiver this year. Elstrom caught a pass in every game this season and leads the Huskies with 47 catches for 683 yards. Those 47 catches are tied for eighth most in UW single-season history, matching Orlando McKay's 1991 effort. The UW record is 69, by Jerome Pathon (1997).

THE NEW FIELD: Washington, after spending the last 32 years playing on AstroTurf at Husky Stadium, played on a new surface in 2000. The Husky Stadium AstroTurf was replaced by FieldTurf, a synthetic sports surface that duplicates the playing conditions of real grass. The field was installed in July, thanks to a gift from the Seahawks, who will share Husky Stadium for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

DECADE AND CENTURY HONORS: Lindy's preseason magazine named a Pac-10 Team of the Decade and of the Century, and former Washington star Steve Emtman figured prominently. Emtman, who won both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award and finished fourth in the 1991 Heisman Trophy ballotting, was named the Defensive Player of the Decade and Century. The other Husky to make the All-Century first team was George Wilson (1923-35), who was listed as a defensive back. Back Hugh McElhenny and lineman Max Starcevich made the Pac-10 All-Century second team. Besides Emtman, three Huskies made the All-Decade first team (Napoleon Kaufman, Lincoln Kennedy, Lawyer Milloy) and four made the second (Mario Bailey, Olin Kreutz, Jason Chorak and Dave Hoffmann). Emtman was also named to the Walter Camp All-Century team.

PAC-10 PREDICTION: In the annual preseason media poll conducted by the Pacific-10 Conference office, Washington was a narrow favorite to win the conference title. The Huskies edged second choice USC by only three points, but garnered 16 first-place votes to the Trojans' 11 in the second-closest voting in the poll's history. The preseason poll has successfully predicted the eventual league champion 18 of 40 times and three times in the last eight years. Here's the entire poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, along with the actual final standings:

TEAM OF THE 1990S: By almost any gauge, Washington was the Pac-10's team of the last decade. Washington's 82-35-1 (.700) record during the decade was easily the best among the 10 conference schools, 11 wins and .094 ahead of second-place Arizona. With a 58-21-1 Pac-10 (.731) mark, the Huskies also had 11 more league victories than the next nearest conference opponent, UCLA. Washington's overall record in the decade was the 12th-best in Division I. Washington made eight bowl game appearances in the 1990s and won four Pac-10 titles. With an average home attendance of 71,790 during the decade, the UW easily out-distances every other conference school in that category. Husky players earned first-team All-America honors 17 times in the last 10 years and 43 Huskies were first-team all-Pac-10. In addition, UW linemen won the Pac-10's prestigious Morris Trophy (for top offensive and defensive linemen) seven times.

PLAYING AT HOME: The Huskies finished the home slate with a spotless 6-0 record in 2000, marking the 12th time ever and the fifth time in the last 10 seasons that the Dawgs have played perfect at home (1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000). Washington has won 56 of its last 68 (.831) games at Husky Stadium with one tie (56-11-1). Since 1980, the Huskies stand 104-23-2 (.814) at home. Since 1990, the Huskies are 37-7-1 (.833) at Husky Stadium vs. Pac-10 opponents.

HISTORIC HUSKY STADIUM: The 2000 season marked the 81st season of play in Husky Stadium. Original construction on the facility was completed in 1920 when Washington played one game in the new campus facility. Thanks to several major renovations, Husky Stadium's seating capacity has increased to its current total of 72,500. That makes Husky Stadium the 24th-largest college football venue in the nation. It is the 20th-largest on-campus facility in the country. Washington's all-time record in Husky Stadium currently stands at 321-133-21.

RANDOM HUSKY NOTES: Washington's 17-14 win over Colorado marked only the fourth Husky win in the last 11 seasons in which the Huskies have scored fewer than 20 points ... the other such victories were: 14-3 at USC in 1991, 17-10 over USC in 1992, and 16-9 at Washington State in 1998 ... the win over WSU marked the seventh time that Washington has held an opponent under 100 rushing yards under Neuheisel ... UW is 6-1 in such games (wins over Oregon ('99), WSU ('99), Colorado ('00), ASU ('00), UCLA ('00), WSU ('00), loss to Brigham Young('99)) ... after starting in place of injured Pat Conniff in the ASU game, fullback Ken Walker became the first Husky to start a game on both offense and defense since former linebacker/tight end Reggie Davis, who started five games at linebacker in 1995 and nine games at tight end in 1998 ... Walker started one game at inside linebacker against Oregon State in 1998 but has since moved to fullback ... Ryan Fleming had 10 punts against Arizona State, the most by a Washington punter since Channing Wyles had 10 against San Jose State on Sept. 8, 1990 ... Fleming did well, averaging 41.8 yards per punt ... excepting the Idaho game (the opener) and WSU game (the finale), Washington only outscored its opponents, 258 to 219, and went 8-1 during that stretch ... CNN/SI named Rick Neuheisel coach of the week after the Arizona win ... the Huskies scored on their first drive of the UCLA game and the WSU game, marking the only two times this season they did so ... in nine prior games, the UW had punted to end its first drive eight times and fumbled once (at ASU) ... Washington is one of only eight teams in Division I-A with one or no losses ... Oklahoma is undefeated, while Washington, Florida State, Miami, Oregon State, TCU, Toledo and Virginia Tech have one loss each ... the UW provided two of those teams - Miami and Oregon State - with their lone losses ... Miami, incidentally, has handed Florida State and Virginia Tech their only losses of the season ... Washington once again led the Pac-10 in attendance in 2000 ... the Huskies averaged 71,638 fans in six games this season ... the UW plays in the sixth largest stadium in the league, but has led the Pac-10 in attendance in 10 of the last 11 seasons ... by rushing for 336 yards at Washington State, the Huskies reached 300 yards rushing in back-to-back games for the first time since 1977 when the Huskies ran for 300 or more against Oregon (Oct. 8, 1977) and Stanford (Oct. 15) in consecutive games ... Washington has lost only six games in Neuheisel's two seasons ... four of those six losses have come by a touchdown or less: BYU (35-28), UCLA (23-20), Kansas State (24-20) and Oregon (23-16) ... the Huskies' other two losses were by 10 to Air Force (31-21) and by 21 to Arizona State (28-7) ... two Husky regulars (John Anderson and Rich Alexis) and Purdue's leading receiver (Vinny Sutherland) all attended high school in Palm Beach County, Fla. ... Alexis and Anderson both went to Pope John Paul II in Boynton Beach, Fla., while Sutherland attended Palm Beach Lakes High in West Palm Beach ... who's the top fullback in the Pac-10? That's hard to say, but there's a good argument for Husky senior Pat Conniff ... among Pac-10 fullbacks, Conniff rushed for the second-most yards (161), had the most carries per game (4.9) and rushed for the most touchdowns (five) ... Stanford's Casey Moore had 224 yards and three touchdowns on 50 carries in 11 games ... Washington's five starting offensive linemen (Call, Ward, Benn, Fraize, Silvers) made 54 of a possible 55 starts this year ... the only missed start was by Wes Call at Colorado and was due to a death in his family that made him miss practice that week ... junior linebacker Anthony Kelley will study abroad in South Africa next quarter.